Splinter Cell : The Shadow Walkers
by Myengun
Summary: Sam Fisher has always worked alone...until a new mission more dangerous than usual prompts Lambert to call in someone to help, and Sam's not receptive to having a teammate... Rated M for language, violence and some sexual content. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1: No News Is Good News

Splinter Cell: Shadow Walkers

"Ahh, damn it all. This had to be the day I wore a light-coloured shirt."

The frustrated growl came from Col. Irving Lambert, Operations Coordinator of Third Echelon, a division of the National Security Agency. He had just spilled coffee on himself. The heavyset man sighed, grabbed a wad of napkins from the middle of the table and began to blot at the brown patch on his sky-blue shirt. Lambert was middle aged and balding, and had the kind of physique that indicated that he liked cheeseburgers too much.

Seated across from him, Anna Grimsdottir looked up from her laptop and smirked. Grimsdottir, or Grim as she was often called for short, was the polar opposite of Lambert, at least physically. She was tall and slim, with pale skin contrasting to his dark skin. "I have one of those stain-remover pens in my purse. Would you like to use it?" she asked.

Lambert held out his hand. "Might as well give it a try."

Grim bent down and dug through a small purse at her feet, retrieved the pen, and placed it in Lambert's palm. He pulled the cap off and began rubbing the pen on the coffee stain.

"You know, he's not going to like it," Grim mentioned.

Lambert sighed again. "I _know_ he won't like it, Grim, but I've made up my mind."

"Have a little accident there, Lambert?" came an amused, deep voice from the doorway. Lambert glanced up to see Sam standing there, arms crossed, leaning casually against the door frame.

Sam Fisher was the first, and one of the best, field agents that Third Echelon had ever had. He had begun his career as a Navy SEAL and his physique showed it. Just shy of 50 years old, he was solidly built and muscular. His face was beginning to show his age, with some fine wrinkles developing around his eyes, but otherwise he looked like a man at least a decade younger. He had a deep, booming voice that he was capable of making soothing one moment and intimidating the next. His salt & pepper hair was cut short and spiky, and he had a perpetual 5-o'clock shadow. The sleeves of his black t-shirt were stretched by his well-developed biceps, and he had a set of pecs that almost looked bulletproof. He uncrossed his arms and strolled into the room.

"Fisher! Thanks for coming so soon. Yeah, the day's barely started and already something's gone wrong. It's all downhill from here." Lambert groused.

Sam grinned, pulled out a chair at the head of the table and sat down. "I hope that doesn't apply to my briefing as well."

"We can only hope," Lambert teasingly remarked. He looked down at the stain which wasn't quite as bad now, recapped the pen and passed it back to Grim. "So, you ready for a new assignment?"

"Hell yeah," Sam exclaimed. "I mean, that was a nice couple of months I had off there. And it was really great to spend some quality time with Sarah. It was about time the poor kid could hang out with her dad for awhile. But you know me, Lambert, I don't like to be idle for too long – I get fidgety."

Lambert smiled. "Well, I suppose if idle hands do the devil's work, then busy ones must do the government's work. Although there _is_ a fine line between the two. But anyway, Fisher, we're just waiting for the new operative to show and then we'll get down to business."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "New operative? He gonna be helping us behind the scenes?"

"She," Corrected Lambert. "And no, she isn't."

"Then what is – " Began Fisher, when he was interrupted by a soft tap on the door.

A timid-looking girl with short brown hair cut in a bob and greenish-brown eyes peeked in. "Sorry to interrupt," she said softly, "I hope this is the right room. Is one of you Col. Lambert?"

"That'd be me," Lambert said. He stood up and crossed over to her, shaking her hand vigorously. "Glad to finally meet you in person." He turned around and announced, "Grim, Fisher, this is agent Kestrel Sterling. Kestrel, this is Anna Grimsdottir and Sam Fisher."

Kestrel blushed a little. "Please call me Kess."

Grim and Sam stood up to shake her hand. She was petite and wore a kind but nervous smile. As Sam took his hand in hers he was mindful not to administer his usual crushing handshake – her hand was tiny and he imagined it containing bird bones. He grinned at her and said, "Kestrel – that's an unusual name."

She looked a little embarrassed and responded, "Yes, I know – when my mom was pregnant with me she was sitting outside one day trying to come up with names for me, and she saw a kestrel fly over her head."

Sam looked bewildered. "What's a kestrel?"

"A little falcon." She explained. "And please do call me Kess."

"No problem." Sam said, and sat back down. Lambert motioned to an empty seat beside him and Kess settled herself into it.

Lambert seated himself, folded his hands on the table and looked at Sam. "Sam, Kess is a hacker and weapons expert and -"

Sam glanced at the petite, nervous creature beside him and snorted.

Lambert stopped speaking and glared at Sam. "You find something funny, Fisher?"

Sam composed himself. "No. No, Sir."

Lambert frowned. "Good. Now, as I was saying. She's going to be accompanying you on this particular mission, Sam –"

Lambert was again cut off by Sam slapping his palm down on the table. Kess jumped a little.

"No. No, no, no. I work alone. I thought we've always been clear on that, Lambert! I don't do well with others." There was no hiding the anger in Sam's voice.

Lambert leaned in towards him. "Look, Fisher, this mission is going to involve a lot more system hacking than you're used to, and a pretty tight security system to boot. You can't hack a computer and be fighting off three guys at the same time. You're our best operative, but you're only human, Sam. You're going to need help with this one. Kess was the best the CIA had to offer us."

Sam let out a short, angry laugh. "Good God, Lambert, the _best?_ Are they hiring just anyone these days? Look, she's a nice kid, but she'll just slow me down." Kess looked like she wanted to crawl underneath the table.

Lambert drummed his fingers on the table for a moment, and then said, "Sam, can I talk to you outside for a second?"

"Yeah," Sam growled. He shoved back his chair and exited the room. Lambert followed, slamming the door shut behind them. He then faced Sam with hands on his hips. "Goddamn it, Fisher, can't you even _fake_ being pleasant for once? I've given this a lot of thought, and the risk is just too great this time to send you in there alone. We can't afford to lose you."

Sam crossed his arms and his green eyes darkened angrily. "I appreciate your _concern_, Lambert, but I've never had trouble before. It's just a little more effort. If I wanted to be part of a team, I would have joined SHADOWNET. Next thing I know you'll be shipping me off to the nursing home. That little thing in there couldn't have gotten out of highschool before yesterday. If you send me in with her, we'll both get killed."

At the same time, back inside the room, Kestrel and Grim sat awkwardly listening to the muffled sounds of Lambert and Fisher arguing in the hall. Grim lowered the screen of her laptop to look across at Kestrel.

"Sorry about that," she said sympathetically.

Kess shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Is he _always_ like that?" she asked in hushed tones.

Grim smirked a little. "Not all the time. But you have to understand, Sam's been doing this work for years. I guess a lot of lone field operatives are like tigers. They thrive in solitude, but come to the defense whenever someone else steps into their territory. Y'know?"

Kess mulled over this. "Yeah, I can understand…but he's not even giving me a chance."

"Give him time. He'll get used to you and warm up, in his own way. Just let him lead, and things should be alright."

Simultaneously, Lambert and Sam continued their argument outside.

"_Christ_, Fisher! This has nothing to do with your age, or hers!" Lambert nearly bellowed. "Kess looks younger than she is, anyway – she's 29, for your information. When I called the CIA for recommendations, she was one of the best. She's got some serious credentials, Fisher. She knows far more than you're giving her credit for."

Sam glared at Lambert. "I'll believe it when I see it. I want to have some proof that she knows what she's doing before I take one step out there with her."

Lambert flung his arms in the air in frustration. "Fine, Good, Done. I'll have her modify some of your weapons tomorrow and I'll have Grim set up a system test for her. Will that make you happy?"

"I can deal," Sam growled.

"Good. And treat her nicely, will you?"

"No promises." Sam muttered.

Lambert gave an exasperated sigh and opened the door again, and they re-entered the room.

Lambert and Sam went to take their seats once more. As Sam sat down, he folded his arms and looked straight ahead as if Kess were no more than a sack of clothes that had been placed in her chair. Grim gave her an understanding look before going back to her laptop screen once more. Not about to let herself be stepped on by Sam's attitude, Kess sat up straighter and crossed her arms as well.

Lambert shuffled a small stack of papers in front of him for a moment. "Okay, let's get down to business. There's a pharmaceutical company in New York called Viomax. New, but big drug developers, worth a lot of money. About a week ago, the FBI dragged a body out of the Hudson River with an I.D. card in his wallet showing him as an employee at Viomax. They probably wouldn't have found him, considering he had cinderblocks tied to all his limbs, but seems some animal chewed part of his leg off and it had drifted to the surface like some morbid signal buoy. Guy walking his dog saw it. Anyway, the stiff was carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey. His laptop had gone down with him, too. Police divers found it on the bottom. The Fed geeks were able to recover enough info off the hard disc to decrypt a couple emails he'd had on there. From what they could piece together, it seems that Viomax is up to something that's in serious violation of the FDA. We're guessing this guy was going to spill the beans, and that's how he ended up at the bottom of the river. FDA agents were sent over to Viomax HQ to do a thorough inspection, and found nothing unusual. But the FBI has been collaborating with the FDA and they're in agreement that something's going down that could be a serious threat to National Security, so they want to bring out the big guns. Which is why we've been contacted."

Lambert paused for a moment and glanced up at Sam. Sam was weaing the same poker face he'd sat down with, arms still crossed.

Lambert cleared his throat and continued. "We've been informed that Viomax has an unusually tight security system for a pharmaceutical company – Armed guards in many areas of the building, cameras everywhere, alarms, retinal scanners – kinda weird, don't you think? Now, we've only got one shot at this. We cannot risk even one alarm. Viomax is powerful, and if they know they've got more than the FDA breathing down their neck, I don't doubt they'll move their operation internationally, where it'll be harder to investigate. This is why I'm sending Kess in with you, Fisher, to minimize the risk as much as possible."

Sam said nothing. Kess nervously chewed her bottom lip.

Lambert grimaced a bit, then turned his attention towards Kess. "Kess, we're going to run you through some training tomorrow. It's not that we doubt your abilities; however, we need to be absolutely certain that you're 100 ready to perform considering you'll be dealing with issues involving national security. Sam had to go through the same training when he first came to us. We'll begin at 08:00 hours tomorrow."

Kess nodded. "I understand. Not a problem."

Lambert glanced from her to Sam, who was still sitting like a statue, then back again. "Well, if there's nothing further, you're dismissed."

Sam pushed his chair back, stood up and stalked out of the room. Kess watched him leave, then looked questioningly at Lambert.

Lambert gave her a sympathetic look. "Don't let his behavior bother you. He'll sulk for awhile, but he'll come around. Just stay out of his way for now. He's the kind of man who needs his space when he's angry."

"I told you he wouldn't like it," Grim muttered from behind her laptop.

Chapter 2 coming soon... Please review for faster chapters!


	2. Chapter 2: Testing The Waters

Kess awoke to the annoying beep of her alarm clock and reached out lazily to hit the snooze button. Something didn't feel right - the nightstand seemed shorter than usual. Confused, she sat up and looked around. That's when she remembered that she was at Third Echelon HQ. The nightstand, the bed, even the clock wasn't hers. They had given her her own tiny apartment within the headquarters until she could find an apartment of her own in town. It was small, but it had everything she needed - and she wouldn't have to sit in rush hour traffic every day to get to work.

She slid out of bed, took a quick shower and out of habit went to poke through the fridge. There was nothing in there, of course, so she'd have to go to the cafeteria. She made a mental note to try and squeeze some grocery shopping in when she was off duty. She slipped into some olive cargo pants and a black t-shirt, combed her hair into a presentable shape and headed for the cafeteria.

When she got there, she was surprised to see that it was surprisingly bustling considering it was 7am. The smell of brewing coffee and bacon was in the air. There was a grill where a cook was frying up eggs, bacon and sausages and a case on one counter full of muffins and bagels. There was a small line of agents waiting to pay for their food. Kess chose a bagel with cheese from the case, grabbed a paper cup and poured herself some coffee from the carafe on the hot plate beside the muffins. She paid for her food, then plunked herself down at one of the tables and began to eat, still half-asleep. She drowsily watched people go in and out the door while she chewed her bagel. _I wonder what they do here_, she thought to herself. Some people were in suits, some were casually dressed. There were a few people in military fatigues. Then a man came through the door wearing almost the same clothes she had thrown on, only his cargo pants had a camouflage print. She looked up and a feeling of mild disgust came over her when she saw his face.

_It's that jerk, Sam. Goddamn it. I hope he doesn't see me._ she held her coffee cup up so it was half in front of her face. Sam went over to the grill and waited to be served a plate of sausage and eggs, then poured himself some coffee and took his place in line. He looked around casually, then spotted Kess. _Fuck._ Kess looked away quickly, pretending she hadn't seen him. She took a slurp of her coffee and burned her tongue. _I hope he just gets_ _his stuff and leaves,_ she thought. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him begin to walk in her direction. _Ah, shit._

Sam took a seat opposite her and nodded at her. "'Morning," he said flatly.

"G'mr," Kess mumbled into her coffee cup. She took another sip of the searing coffee and forced a little smile at him. She wished it would cool down so she could finish it and get out of there.

Sam cut his sausage in half and stuffed one half in his mouth. He chewed slowly while staring at her, one eyebrow raised. Kess pretended to see a hair on her bagel and pick it off.

"So," came Sam's deep voice, "You ready for your training exercises today?"

"Yep," Kess said, trying to sound like she was completely confident. She absentmindedly brushed crumbs off her shirt, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Huh," Sam said in a consescending tone, then ate the other half of his sausage, still staring at her. She had a brief impulse to dump her coffee over his head, and probably would have if he had been some stranger. But unfortunately, she had to work with him, and instead chewed on the lip of her cup.

"You're not wearing any makeup today," Sam remarked.

Kess was a little surprised at this comment and looked up at him briefly. "No, I'm not."

"You could use some. You've got big circles under your eyes."

_That son of a bitch._ Under the table, Kess balled up her paper napkin and squeezed it as hard as she could. "I'm tired," she said, trying not to let it show how much he was pissing her off.

"Are you, now. Better pay extra close attention, then. This stuff is easy to screw up if you're tired." He took a sip of his coffee.

Kess twisted the hell out of the napkin under the table. "I'll be fine," she said, and downed the last sip of her coffee. She stood up, chucked her garbage in a nearby bin, and headed for the door.

"Whatever you say," she heard Sam comment as she walked away. She gritted her teeth and kept going. As soon as she got don the hall and out of earshot, she let out a frustrated growl. "Fucker. Asshole. Who does he think he is?" she hissed to herself. "'You're not wearing makeup. You could use some.' I'd rather have circles under my eyes than the crow's feet he's got. Pompous bastard." She turned a corner and nearly collided with Lambert, who was carrying a cup of coffee. He halted in his tracks and the jolt sent the coffee in his cup slopping out and all over the front of his sage-coloured shirt.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry." Kess apologized. She looked at him worriedly.

Lambert looked down and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. This seems to be my curse lately. I think tomorrow I'll wear a brown shirt." He sighed. He pulled a couple Kleenexes out of his pocket and patted at the stain. "I need to try to clean this up. Why don't you go meet Grim for your first exercise - it's almost 8 o'clock anyway. Let yourself get comfortable while you wait for me, and we can start when I get back."

"Sounds good," Kess said, "Where do I go?"

"There's a computer hub in area 3E. Go through the doors and it's 2 rooms down on the left. There's a building map on the wall just by the washrooms down here – you shouldn't have any trouble finding the room."

"Thanks. See you later." Said Kess.

She looked up the map by the washrooms and was able to find the hub pretty easily. When she walked in, Grim was already there, typing furiously on her laptop.

"Hi," Kess greeted her.

Grim looked up. "Hi! Sleep well?"

"Yeah, but not enough. I had some coffee but it hasn't kicked in yet."

"I figured you were tired. You've got big dark circles under your eyes." Grim commented.

Kess grimaced. "I know. I ran into Sam in the cafeteria this morning. He was the first to point that out."

Grim frowned. "Uh oh. Was he a jerk to you again?"

Kess crossed her arms and stared at the wall. "Unfortunately."

"Try not to take it personally. You're not the only person he's acted like this towards."

"From the way he acts in general, I wonder if he likes _anybody._" Kess exclaimed.

Grim smiled. "Well, I hear he loves his daughter an awful lot."

Kess looked at her in amazement. "Daughter? You mean someone could actually stand him enough to sleep with him?"

"Yeah - one second. Let me pull up his file." Grim typed for a few moments, then read on the screen and said, "While Sam was working on an American Air Force base in Germany during the 1980s, he met and later married Regan Burns in 1984. She died from ovarian cancer in 1989. They had one daughter together, Sarah, born in 1985."

A feeling of pity came over Kess. "He lost his wife to cancer…that's terrible. I didn't know."

"He doesn't talk about it," Grim stated. "Sam has a heart, Kess, it's just been scarred and he's put up a tough barrier to protect himself. Be patient with him, and he'll lighten up."

Kess nodded. _I hope it's soon,_ she thought.

"You should know that he'll be observing your performance today. It was the only way that he'd agree to take on this mission with you."

Kess sighed. "Well, if he sees proof that I'm capable of this, maybe that'll influence the way he treats me. But I'm going to be self-conscious with him breathing down my neck."

"Try to pretend he's not there. If he tries to make any smartass comments I'm sure Lambert will take a strip of his hide."

Just as Kess opened her mouth to respond, Lambert walked in. He had a damp spot on his shirt now, but had managed to get most of the stain out. He nodded at Grim, then turned to Kess and said, "Well, Kestrel, we'll get started as soon as Sam-"

"Here," said Sam's voice. He had appeared in the doorway.

"Damn, but you're quiet, Sam. Alright, let's get started then. Grim?"

Grim smiled and turned her laptop towards Kess. "I've hidden and encoded a document somewhere in Third Echelon's test database. It's up to you to find and decode it, Kess. All I'll tell you is that your name is in it, and you've only got 1 minute to hack in before the computer sets off an alarm."

"Ok….I'll get on it." Kess said. Grim got up and motioned for Kess to take her seat. Kess sat and pulled up the OS command line. _Dammit…I hope I can do this…let's see, first gain admin access…_ She typed rapidly and the system began pinging random port numbers. Kess leaned in and scanned the numbers flashing across the screen, watching for the appropriate ones.

"I'll bet you $20 she can't do it," she heard Sam whisper from the corner of the room.

"Fisher, one more comment like that and I'll dock your pay," Lambert hissed. Sam shut up.

_That sonofabitch! I wish I could…Fuck! Missed the last number!_ The distraction had broken her concentration. _Come on, bring it up again…_the sequences flashed by.

"10 seconds," Grim announced.

_Dammit, Dammit…_ suddenly the last correct number came up. _Got it! I hope I got all the right numbers…92 60 27 68 81…_As quick as she could, Kess typed in the full sequence. The computer made a sound of recognition, and Kess let out a sigh of relief.

"You beat the clock, but you're not done yet," Grim said with a half-smile.

Kess searched the hard drive and found the administrator's folder. She searched for her name and one document appeared. She opened it up… _Shit, that's right, it's encrypted…what's the key for this one again…_She thought for a moment, then pulled up the command line again and typed a code, then re-opened the document. A simple text message appeared:

GOOD JOB KESS!

"Phew!" Kess said. She smiled broadly and sat back in her chair.

Lambert stepped forward and shook her hand. "Well, I'm pleased. Grim?"

"She did fine," Grim said.

"Sam?" Lambert asked, raising his eyebrows at Sam.

Sam, who was leaning against the wall with arms folded against his chest, looked at Kess and gave her a half-smile. "You did all right, kid."

Kess smiled back at him briefly before dropping her gaze. Those green eyes of his were so unsettling, like he could see right through her.

"Alright Kess, we'll take a coffee break, and then I've got a job for you making some modifications to Sam's assault rifle." Lambert said. 'Come back here in 15 minutes and then we'll go down to the workshop."

"Thanks. I could use another coffee." Kess said appreciatively. She headed out the door and towards the cafeteria. As she walked off, she just couldn't shake the feeling that those green eyes were watching her closely…

* * *

Chapter 3 coming soon!  



	3. Chapter 3: Earning respect

_Explanation of abbreviations used in this chapter: APDS (Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot), LTL (Less-Than-Lethal), UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)._

* * *

With a second coffee in her system, Kess was finally beginning to feel more energetic. She headed back to the computer hub, and Lambert headed the way towards the workshop. Her and Sam followed behind, with Sam walking slightly ahead of her. Kess watched him walk, noting the confident way with which he held himself. He was certainly intimidating with his muscular build, and the unsettling way he peered at people helped that as well. Kess watched his arms swing in time with his steps as he walked. His biceps were big and solid, honed by years of training, laced here and there with bulging veins. _Huh…for an older guy, he's kinda hot,_ Kess mused. _Too bad he's so jerky. _

Out of the corner of his eye, Sam noticed Kess examining him and turned his head towards her. Kess quickly looked straight ahead. Sam gave her a skeptical look and then turned his eyes back to the hallway.

Soon Lambert stopped at a big steel door. He picked up the keycard hanging around his neck and stuck it in the reader slot beside the door. A green light flashed on the reader and Lambert pushed the door open, with Sam and Kess following behind.

"Well, here we are," Lambert announced, motioning around with his arm. "You can build or mod weapons to your heart's content here, Kess - it should have everything you need."

Kess looked around. It was a large, grey, warehouselike room with metal shelves lining the walls. There were boxes full of parts on one side and tools on the other. There were power outlets spaced around the room and rolls of extension cords hanging on the wall.There was a large wooden table in the centre of the room with a couple stools to sit on by it, and a big light overhead. Lying on the table was an assault rifle.

"That's Sam's gun," said Lambert when he saw her notice it. "Have a look at it."

As Kess reached out for it, Sam said, "Be careful now, that's a dangerous weapon."

Kess bit her lip hard to keep from saying something she might regret, and Lambert shot a death glare at Sam. "Fisher…" he began menacingly.

"Sorry, sorry…" Sam mumbled.

Kess picked up the rifle, checking to make sure there was no magazine loaded, and then turned it around in her hands, examining it. "Hmm, nice, an SC-20K…30-round, selective fire 5.56 x 45 mm NATO bull-pup assault rifle with suppressor…" She held the gun up and looked through the sight," "…1.5x reflex sight…what's this?" She wondered aloud as she spotted the launcher attachment below the muzzle. She slid the chamber open and a look of recognition crossed her face. "Ah, yes! an undermount 40 mm variable launcher. Nice weapon."

Sam stared at her with a look akin to amazement. Kess didn't notice, but Lambert did, and smiled a little to himself.

Kess examined the rifle some more. "This has already been modified, yes?" she asked. "Standard models come with a 4x full scope, not the 1.5x reflex sight. Why didn't you stick with the more powerful scope?" She looked up questioningly at Sam.

Sam worked his jaw, trying to say something but was speechless. Lambert grinned and decided to answer for him. "With the smaller sight, we were able to mount additional modular configurations to the undermount."

"Ahh," Kess said. She turned it upside-down and looked over the undermount. "Yes, I see. Looks like you can carry two modules at once...the launcher and…" Kess gripped the undermount and it clicked as she switched modules. "Foregrip as well. Much more accurate when using automatic fire. What other modules do you usually equip?" Kess asked."

Sam found his voice again and answered, "Shotgun and sniper."

Kess looked up with surprise. "Sniper! What kind of round does it take?"

"20mm APDS. The module has a full scope and modified barrel, too." Sam told her.

"Holy shit," Kess said, looking back at the gun. "They went all out with this. I've never heard of a sniper module for the SC-20K before."

"That's because we're the only one who has it," Lambert explained with a smile.

Kess grinned, then commented, "That's got to have the highest penetration power in your arsenal, Sam. You could take out some small UAVs with that thing. Must be loud as hell, though – I bet you don't use it a lot."

Sam gave her a half-smile. "You're right – and I don't."

Kess put the gun back on the table. "Well, now I'm excited. Let me see the launcher attachments."

Lambert chuckled and went over to some metal ammo boxes that were sitting on one of the shelves. He opened several of the smaller ones, and pointed each one out to Kess. "Sticky shocker, sticky camera, gas grenade, airfoil round. There are others, but these are the ones that are usually included with Sam's loadout."

Kess went over to the boxes. "Huh, all LTL devices, I see…quite effective I bet, though."

Sam smiled. "I'm pretty happy with 'em."

"So, Kestrel, you think you can modify the SC to improve it even more?" Lambert inquired.

Kess picked the gun back up and looked it over again. "I'm sure I can…but it's going to take awhile. The rest of the day at least, and maybe tomorrow as well."

"Not a problem. We wouldn't expect less for good work. You're free to work on it for that time – you'll have the workshop all to yourself. There's a radio on the top shelf so you don't get bored. Lunch hour at 1300 hours, and then you're dismissed for the day at 1700. Next day begins at 0800 again. Report back to me tomorrow afternoon at 1400 hours and let me know your status. If you need more time, I can arrange it. When it's ready, we'll have Sam try it out at the firing range to see how it performs. Sound good?"

"Yes, Sir," Kess agreed.

"Very well, then," Lambert said. "I'm looking forward to the results. Talk to you later." He gave her a nod and left.

Kess began to rummage through the tools, noting that Sam was still hanging around. _You can go now,_ she thought at him. She sat down on one of the stools and began to take apart the gun, trying to ignore Sam's presence.

He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, watching her work for a few moments, then said, "I'm impressed."

Kess looked up at him. She was quite surprised at this, but let her demeanor remain neutral. "Oh, yeah?" she casually asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered. He stepped away from the wall and winked at her, then walked out the door.

Kess smiled to herself and went back to working on the gun. _Maybe he's finally giving me a chance,_ she thought.

* * *

Chapter 4 coming soon!  



	4. Chapter 4: Frustration

After enjoying a surprisingly good egg salad sandwich from the cafeteria for lunch, Kess returned to the workshop, where she already had the SC-20K laid out in pieces across the table. After a few minutes of searching the shelves, she found the sniper module and placed it on the table, then began to take apart the chamber when a deep voice behind her ear said, "Are you messing with the sniper module?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin, then spun around on her stool to see Sam behind her, looking at her with scrutiny.

"I'm not 'messing' with it, I'm working on it," she said, casting him a dirty look before turning back to her work.

"Don't screw it up," Sam warned her.

"I'm **NOT** going to screw it up," Kess growled.

"You'd better not. Look, you're not even holding the screwdriver properly."

Kess slammed the point of the screwdriver into the wooden table and glared at Sam. "Leave me alone!" she shot at him in frustration.

"Boy, you're in a bad mood," Sam said snidely before strolling out the door.

Kess gripped the side of the table, resisting the urge to chase him down with the screwdriver and jam it up his ass. _That asshole! Now I AM afraid that I'm going to mess it up…and I've done mods on hundreds of weapons!_ She continued disassembling the chamber, but more slowly. As she worked, her anger began to subside and the challenge that she enjoyed of thinking of ways to improve the weapon took over. _Let's see, if I replace this with this…maybe if I loosen the tension on here just a bit…_

"Hi," said a voice in her ear.

Not bothering to look up, Kess balled up her fists and pounded them down on the table. "Goddamn it, will you just _piss off?_" She yelled.

"Oh…uh...I didn't mean to disturb you," the startled voice apologised. _Not Sam._

Kess spun around and stood up. There was a bewildered, bespectacled and slightly hurt-looking man standing behind her. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were…someone else," Kess explained sheepishly. _Great first impression, Kestrel._

"Um…no problem," The man offered, then somewhat nervously extended his hand to her. "You're agent Sterling, I presume. Col. Lambert said I'd probably find you here. I'm William Redding. I pilot the Osprey which transports Sam to and from missions. I'm also his technical advisor and weapons support. I arrange the arsenal for his loadouts."

Kess smiled as kindly as she could at him, and shook his hand. "Yes, I'm agent Sterling. Please call me Kess, though."

Redding smiled back. "Fair enough. You can call me William, Will, Redding…it doesn't matter to me."

"Will has the least amount of syllables," Kess said with a grin.

Will nodded, then looked at the parts strewn across the table. "I heard you're modding Sam's SC-20K. I'm a bit of a weapons fetishist and was interested to have a look at what you have in mind for it."

Kess looked back at the gun and sighed. "I'm going to try to reduce the noise with the sniper module. I'd like to fit it with a silencer, but I'd need to make one that wouldn't bulk it up, yet still be effective. But I want to improve it without having to add anything, if I can, so first I'm going to try to make some modifications to the chamber mechanism to see if I can still get the same firing power with a minimum of gas release from the chamber."

Redding raised his eyebrows. "That _is_ quite a challenge. I hope it works out. I commend you. I know I'd be too chicken to try it, especially since it's Sam's weapon."

Kess snorted. "You're telling me. Sam oh-so-kindly told me not to 'screw it up'"

A glint of recognition came across Redding's face. "Ah. I'm guessing he was the 'someone else' you were referring to?"

"Mmm-hmm," Kess confirmed.

Redding smirked. "Well. That's just Sam being Sam. I can tell you that I've seen your file and I have every confidence in your work."

"Thank you. It was nice to meet you." Kess said sincerely. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have an awful lot of work to do yet."

"I understand. A pleasure to meet you as well – I'll talk to you again soon," Redding said with a smile, and left.

Kess turned back to her work, smirking to herself as she removed another screw. _Heh. I'm glad there's at least one nice guy around here besides Lambert. That guy was kinda cute, too._

After several hours of manipulating the parts inside the chamber, Kess was exhausted and out of ideas. _The APDS round is just too powerful. No matter what changes I make to the firing mechanism, there's still going to be a noticeable output of noise. _She propped her elbows on the table, folded her hands and rested her chin on them, deep in thought.

"Hey," someone said, jolting her out of her reverie. Kess looked towards the door to see Sam standing there. She groaned. _Not again._

"Did you know it's almost 7 O'clock? You don't have to keep working," he informed her.

Kess looked at her watch. "Geez, the time really flew by…thanks for letting me know. I would have kept going until either the gun was finished or I was."

Sam's hard expression actually softened into a grin. "I hope you didn't – "

Kess held up her hand and cut him off. "Sam, don't even go there. I'm exhausted. I've been working nonstop," she angrily stated.

Sam's grin remained on his face, and he raised an eyebrow at her. " – have dinner yet, because I wanted to get you something."

Kess thought her jaw would hit the floor. _What? Does he have a twin?_

Sam leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms. "So? Whaddaya say?"

"I…well, I, uh…" Kess stumbled, still taken aback. "Well…sure."

"Come on, then," Sam said, straightening up and gesturing to her. Kess got up and they headed for the cafeteria.

"The cafeteria's still open?" Kess asked.

"24-7", Sam told her. "They should still have some decent food at this time. After 9 there's usually nothing but coffee and snacky crap. But we have employees working around the clock, so they keep it open."

"Oh," Kess said. _I wonder why he's doing this? _She thought. _Maybe he feels bad about being a dick earlier?_

As if he'd read her mind, Sam suddenly said, "First day on the job, ya know…we usually do a little something to welcome people to the team. Everyone else has gone home for the night."

"You still have work to do?" Kess asked.

"Nope, I've got my own pad that I live in here while on assignment. The homestead's in Maryland."

_Okay, so it's not because of a guilty conscience. Well, I guess he didn't have to do this at all._

They reached the cafeteria and approached the hot food counter. There seemed to be only vegetable soup or roast beef left to choose from. Kess felt dehydrated so she opted for the soup. Sam chose beef, and they went to pay for the food.

"Are you sure I can't give you some mon…" Kess began.

"I said I'd get it, didn't I? Now go pick a seat," Sam gruffly interjected.

"Alrighty then," Kess said mildly. _Don't lay the charm on **too** thick there, Don Juan._

The cafeteria was nearly empty, so she had no trouble finding a seat. She sat down and began to eat. The soup was a good temperature, but had been cooking in the pot for too long. There were globs of congealed tomatoey stuff here and there in it. Otherwise, though, it tasted fine.

Sam came and settled in the seat opposite her. "Thanks," she offered to him between spoonfuls.

"Don't mention it," Sam muttered, his eyes never leaving his roast beef. He cut off a big hunk and stuffed it in his mouth. He chewed it for several moments, then swallowed and began to cut another piece. "You got a husband, kids at home?" He asked, as he sawed through the meat.

Kess shook her head. "It's just me, myself and I."

"Hm," Sam said through a mouthful of food. He swallowed again and said, "Yeah, it's just me and my daughter at home."

"Oh yeah," Kess said. She wanted to ask about her to make conversation, but wasn't sure how he'd react to questions concerning his home life, so she kept quiet.

"Why'd you go with the soup? You vegetarian or something?" Sam asked.

"No, I was just feeling a bit dry," Kess stated.

"Oh," Sam said. "I hope you're not a picky eater. When we're on a mission, you'll have to take what you can get at times, ya know…the ration packets don't last long."

Kess felt her irritation level begin to rise. "I know that, Sam, I've been through survival training." She replied calmly.

"Okay, I just figured since you were a girl you'd be picky. Most chicks are."

_Calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean…_ Kess repeated in her head. "Well, I'm not most chicks," She informed him.

"Yeah, I guess not. You're a pretty fragile-looking little thing."

Kess ground her teeth. "I'm stronger than I look."

Sam snickered. "Sure, sure, I believe you," he said mockingly.

_I'm not even going to try to prove it to him. It's just a waste of energy. I'm not going to let him get my goat. _Kess thought. She ate the rest of her soup as fast as she could, stood up, then gave Sam the most plastic smile she could and said evenly, "Thank you for dinner, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Remember, don't ruin my gun," Sam replied.

"I'll ruin you," Kess muttered under her breath as she walked away. _Is he bipolar or something? He is a real piece of work, that guy, _she thought as she walked back to her room.She was too tired to stew over it for long, though, and fell asleep as soon as she crawled into bed.

* * *

Chapter 5 coming soon! 


	5. Chapter 5: Happiness Is A Warm Gun

The next morning was a reminder to Kess about how draining the previous day had been for her. She could barely keep her eyes open in the shower, and the only thing she could think of was a large cup of black coffee. As she left to head for the cafeteria, Sam was coming down the hall. Kess drowsily looked in his direction, and Sam announced, "Those circles under your eyes are really big today."

"Oh? I didn't notice," Kess said sarcastically. She began to walk away, but Sam approached her from behind and gently grabbed her shoulders, stopping her. He put his mouth close to her ear and said softly, "I had a dream about you last night."

Kess's zombied-out brain flopped in confusion. _What in the flying fuck? Am I still asleep?_ "You what?" She asked incredulously.

"I had a dream about you last night," he repeated with a seductive edge to his voice, his breath tickling her ear. "You did something to me in it."

_I cannot fucking believe this. _"And just what did I do?" Kess asked, half horrified and half morbidly curious.

"You messed up my gun." Sam whispered, then released her and continued on his way. "Remember, be real careful," He called over his shoulder just before he turned a corner and disappeared.

"Son…of…a…BITCH!" Kess growled savagely through gritted teeth. "'Oh Kess, don't worry, he'll come around, give him time, he's just being Sam!' I don't know how much more of his bullshit I can take…If he doesn't like what I do to his gun, he can just shove it!" she grumbled to herself as she stalked down the hall to the cafeteria.

One strong black coffee later, Kess was back in the workshop with a new plan of action. She browsed the wide variety of silencers that were stocked there until she found the one that would be used on a normal sniper rifle – a large, bulky item. She placed it on the table and sat down, staring intently at it. _Well, I'm gonna have to chop it down. That's gonna all but make it useless as a suppressor, though. I could slow down the round by adding rubber wipes for friction… but that would dramatically reduce the range and stopping power of the bullet. And it would only last a few shots, anyway. Forget that idea. _She frowned and concentrated on it for several minutes. Then she sat up. _I got it!_ She went to the door, shut and locked it. _I'm not taking a chance of Sam bothering me right now…I need to make sure I do this right. _She then grabbed the toolbox and started sorting through it.

* * *

Back in his apartment, Sam stepped into the shower. _Got a long day of strength training ahead…hope I'm not too sore afterwards, _he thought. He was unusually tired. With eyes half-closed, he grabbed some bottle of body wash that Grim had passed off on him because she didn't like the scent. He squirted a glob out onto his hand and lathered up his body with it. _Yuck, sweet smelling stuff._ He looked at the bottle. _Mango Passionfruit? I hate this frilly frou-frou girl crud. I wish I'd looked at what kind it was before I took it. Oh well, too late now. _He finished lathering himself up and rinsed off, then scrubbed his hair with a little shampoo. _Ugh, I just can't seem to wake up today._ He stuck his head under the stream of water and let it beat on his face for a minute, but that didn't seem to help. _Ok, Plan B._ He began to stroke himself, which usually worked. But this morning his equipment couldn't wake up either, and he only managed to get semi-hard before he gave up. 

After getting dressed, he left once more to get some breakfast before heading to the gym. When he entered the cafeteria, he saw Redding standing in line. Redding spotted him as well and waved. Sam nodded and grabbed some food, and then got in line behind Redding.

"Good to see you again, Sam," he said pleasantly. "Did you have some nice time off?"

"I did. It was great. Good to see you too, Will." They bought their food and then sat down at a table together.

"So what do you think of the new agent…Kestrel Sterling?" Redding asked, examining his croissant.

Sam chuckled a little as he took a sip of coffee, then said, "You know how they'd always tell ya, 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?'"

Redding glanced up at Sam and grimaced. "Oh, come on, Sam. She seems like a really nice girl."

"Mmmh. We'll see." Sam grumbled.

"In fact, I'd like to get to know her better. I might ask her out sometime." Redding said.

Sam laughed. "You? Will, I thought your only romantic interest was in the Osprey."

Redding grinned. "Well, there are some things a woman can give you that the Osprey just can't. A labor of love she'll remain, but alas, that's all."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "So, you wanna try to get Sterling in the sack?"

Redding frowned. "Sam, I just met her! She's pretty but I'd rather share our interests before jumping into anything else. I'm far more eager to talk weaponry with her."

Sam shook his head. "Man, you do love the military too much. I'd go for the gold right away."

Redding smirked at him. "What are you saying? Are _you_ interested in her?"

"Not on your life," Sam growled. "That was a rhetorical statement. Besides, I can imagine a tiny thing like that would break into pieces under a man. She's too waify."

" I think she has a sweet, delicate build," Redding commented.

"You say tomayto, I say tomahto," Sam said nonchalantly. He stood up, tossed his refuse in the garbage can and waved to Redding. "I'll see ya around, Will, I gotta get to work."

* * *

"Finally!" Kess exclaimed. She picked up the silencer and looked it over, blowing a little stray dust off of it. She looked at the clock. Nearly 4pm. _All that's left now is a ballistics test. I hope this works. _She got up from her stool and picked up the phone on the wall, dialing Lambert's extension. 

It picked up after two rings. "Lambert," he answered.

"Colonel, it's Kess. I've finished the modifications."

"Good! Give me a few minutes to call down to the firing range and clear out anyone who's in there, and then I'll go collect Sam and we'll meet you at the workshop."

"Sounds good," Kess agreed. She hung up and went to unlock and open the workshop door, then got a dustpan and brush from a peg on the wall and swept the debris of her work off the table. She then bent over to sweep up some grit that had fallen on the floor.

"I see London, I see France…" sang a voice from the doorway.

Kess quickly stood upright and turned around to see Sam leaning against the doorframe, grinning. Kess blushed. "Do I have a hole in my pants?"

"No. Your undies were hanging out the top of your pants when you bent over." He informed her.

_Good timing. What did I put on again today?…Oh Jesus, it's the pink ones with the pictures of sandwiches all over._

"They're cute. Different." Sam said, still grinning.

Kess imagined her head turning progressively redder and then exploding. "I have…eclectic tastes." She mumbled.

"I like it," Sam said, and winked at her.

Kess stood dumbfounded. _Okay, now I'm sure that was a come-on._

Sam looked over to his gun and the silencer on the table and his grin faded. He glared back at Kess. "You _better_ not have ruined anything."

Kess shot him a defiant look. "Don't assume anything before you've even tried it." _No normal person comes on to someone one minute and threatens them the next. He's just being a knob. Anything remotely nice he says is just to make me put my guard down._

Kess heard Lambert's voice before she saw him. "Sam! No wonder I couldn't find you in the gym. How'd you know she was done?"

"I didn't. I just dropped by to visit." Sam explained.

"Well, you're miles ahead of me already. Come on, you two, let's take the SC-20K down to the firing range and give her a go."

Sam stepped into the room and picked up the gun, sniper module and silencer, and grabbed a handful of shells from the ammo box. He then followed after Lambert, with Kess trailing behind.

They made their way down several corridors, then entered into the firing range, an area that almost looked like a parking garage with fuzzy walls. The fuzz, of course, was to absorb the sound of fire and prevent it from echoing or disturbing adjacent departments. At the end of the long room were several human-shaped target sheets hanging from the ceiling. There was a line painted on the floor to separate the firing zone from the target area.

Lambert folded his arms and nodded. "Okay, Sam, why don't you try it out. Kess can explain what she's done."

"Alright," Sam said, sounding almost exasperated. He attached the sniper module and fitted the silencer on, loaded the bullets, then looked at her expectantly.

Kess stuck her hands behind her back and crossed her fingers. Then she crossed her toes for good measure. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I know that to fit a suppressor on the sniper module makes it more cumbersome than worthwhile, due to the size that's required for a weapon of that caliber. I've modified the suppressor by cutting it down lengthwise, and I've added more apertures in its mechanism so the gas can still expand slowly enough that we should still be able to achieve significant noise suppression."

"Hmm." Sam said, cocking an eyebrow at her. "Let's see if it can perform as well as you can talk about it." He turned towards the target and raised the gun, taking careful aim through the scope.

The seconds that passed felt like an eternity to Kess. She braced herself, waiting to hear the deafening **BANG** of failure.

Sam pulled the trigger.

"_Thwip," _went the gun.

Kess let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. _OhthankyouGod._

Sam looked at the gun, surprised, then took aim again and pulled the trigger twice more.

"_Thwip, thwip," _the gun repeated.

Sam lowered the gun and looked at it again, then grinned wide over at Kess. "Well, I'll be."

Lambert patted her on the back. "Great work, Kestrel. There's one addition that'll make Sam's job that much safer. I take it you're satisfied, Sam?"

"I am," he said sincerely, still staring at Kess.

"Glad to hear it. Well, the day's pretty much over with. You're dismissed, Kess. Report to me tomorrow morning and be ready to exercise. We'll run you through the training course."

"Sure thing," said Kess. She turned to leave.

"Hey…Kess." Sam said.

_I think that's the first time he's actually called me by my name,_ she thought with surprise. She turned back towards him. "Yeah?"

He winked at her again. "Thanks."

She allowed herself to smile at him. "You're welcome." She then made her way back to her room. _Time for a well-earned nap._

_

* * *

_Chapter 6 coming soon!_  
_


	6. Chapter 6: KO'ed

Kess rolled over in bed and peered sleepily at the clock. _7:42! Shit! I must have forgot to set my alarm!_ She jumped out of bed and scrambled to find her workout clothes. _Shitshitshit. No time for a shower. It won't look good to be late on only my third day here._ By some miracle she found the grey t-shirt and shorts she was looking for, stuffed in a drawer with some other clothes. She tossed them on, grabbed her comb from the top of her dresser, raked it through her hair, and dropped it on the bed. _No time for coffee either. Looks like I'll have to settle for a bar._ She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a Powerbar and a bottle of water, then stuffed a towel in her gym bag, grabbed it, and left.

She walked quickly down the corridor, glancing at a wall clock above one door. _7:55. I might just make it._ She tore the bar wrapper open with her teeth and munched while hurrying along.

As she neared the hall that led to Lambert's office, who should she see but Sam heading down the hall towards her. _Fucking fantastic._

As he neared her, he opened his mouth to say something.

"No," Kess snapped, brushing past him.

"No?" Sam asked bewilderedly.

"Just no," Kess affirmed sharply, and hurried on.

Sam stared after her for a moment, then scratched his head and shrugged. "Women," he muttered to himself, and continued on his way.

Finally Kess reached Lambert's office. The door was open, and he was sitting at his desk. He looked up as she approached. "Good morning! Right on time, I see."

Kess wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but just smiled at him.

Lambert stood up. "Here's the itinerary for the day. We'll be heading over to the gym – there's an obstacle and training course set up there that we'll run you through. As with your previous jobs, Sam will be observing your performance as well today. But to make things a little more challenging, he'll be participating in the second phase of your training."

Kess barely held back a groan. _Oh, great._ "How is he going to be participating?" Kess asked with a mix of curiosity and dread.

"The first phase is physical agility and strength. The second phase is hand-to-hand combat, particularly stealth attacks. There's three human targets I've assigned to be your guinea pigs. Sam volunteered to be one of them. I thought it would be a good idea. Sam's our best – if you can sneak up on him, you've got it made."

"I just have to sneak up on them?" Kess asked.

"And knock them out. They don't know when, or where, you're going to approach. Sam included. They're moving about freely in the Phase 2 test area right now, except Sam. He's gone to meet us at Phase 1, so he can observe your work there before moving to Phase 2."

"Wait. Sorry. Knock them out? I can deal with the first two of them – but not Sam. He'll never forgive me. He'll probably slit my throat in my sleep."

Lambert chuckled. "Kess, I know he can be abrasive, but he won't hold it against you. He volunteered, and he knows that a bop to the head is on the menu. Besides, it might even humble him a bit."

Kess thought about it. "Alright then. I'm ready."

"Great. Let's go." Lambert said.

As they headed for the gym, Kess was deep in thought. _I know why the bastard volunteered. He wants to catch me, to prove I'm not good enough. I'd rather be at the dentist getting teeth filled than doing this._

They came upon a set of double doors. Lambert pushed through them and they entered into a wide, cool gymnasium. There was an elaborate obstacle course set up. Sam was standing at the starting point of the course, hands on his hips, dressed casually in olive jeans and a tan t-shirt. He nodded at Lambert, and smiled teasingly at Kess. She smirked back, and hung her bag from one of the hooks on the wall.

"Ok," Lambert said. "The course is very straightforward. I won't need to explain anything for you. There are directional arrows on the floor guiding you to the starting points of each obstacle. You will be timed – there's no real limit, but this course generally shouldn't take beyond 5 minutes. Any longer is a concern since time is of the essence in the field. If you end up taking longer, you'll just have to repeat the course until you fall within acceptable parameters."

"Understood," Kess said, and stepped up to the starting point.

"Hey," Sam said. Kess reluctantly looked up at him. He suddenly bent down and kissed her quickly on the lips.

Kess stared at him open-mouthed in shock. "What was _that_ for?"

"Luck," he said, giving her a wink.

_Waitaminute now,_ Kess's brain butted in. _Luck, my ass. He did that to distract me – to try to take my focus off the course. That crafty son of a bitch._ "Thanks," she said flatly, then turned her head towards Lambert. "I'm ready."

Lambert was already holding his stopwatch. He pressed a button on it. "Alright…Go," he prompted.

Kess ran to the first obstacle, a rope dangling from the ceiling. There was a bright orange piece of cloth tied to the top. _Gotta retrieve that, obviously,_ she observed. She grasped the rope, hoisting her body up, then wrapping her legs tight around it and shimmied up, hand over hand.

When she was about halfway up, she heard Sam yell, "Does climbing that rope make you feel good between your legs? I know it does that for me."

_Shut up, Sam,_ Kess thought. She didn't reply and kept going until the cloth was in her reach. She yanked it off, then shimmied back down as fast as she could, taking care not to slide and get rope burns. She jumped off when she was a few feet from the bottom, then ran to the next obstacle, a brick wall with a netting thrown over it. She hooked her fingers in the netting and dug the toes of her shoes into the wall and spider-crawled over the top, jumping and landing softly on the other side. The next was a pole suspended between two posts. Kess jumped up and caught it, and monkey-swung over to the other end. Then it was onto a couple brick walls that were spaced very closely together, with an arrow painted on each of them that was pointing up. _This one's harder._ Kess readied herself, then jumped up and stuck her legs out, bracing each of them against the walls. She then vaulted up from that stance and caught the edge of the wall. As she did, her left shoulder turned awkwardly and she felt a jolt of pain shoot across it. _Fuck!_ She hoisted herself up and over the wall and then dropped down. _Just one more_… She approached a thin beam suspended between two poles, like the other bar, but this one had a platform. She pulled herself up onto the platform and tightrope-walked deftly across with barely a wobble, surprising herself. At the end she hopped down.

"Time," Lambert announced, and stopped the watch. He approached her, looking at the watch display. "Four minutes, seven seconds. Good job."

Kess smiled with relief, only to have her parade rained on by Sam. "A bit slow. You could have been faster," he remarked as he walked up to them.

Lambert gave a dubious look to Sam. "Fisher, may I remind you that _your_ time was 4:12."

"Mmm," Sam muttered defeatedly. "Anyway, I'll be in Phase 2." He wandered away.

When he was out of sight, Lambert gave Kess a wink. She grinned at him. Lambert reset the watch, then stuffed it in his pocket. "Alright then, onto Phase 2. You won't be timed for this one. I can't follow you through this one, obviously, as I'd alert the targets to your presence. But I will be watching through one-way glass in the next room, and you'll receive communications through your OPSAT. Oh – you _do_ have the cochlear implant, right? The CIA said you did."

"Yep," Kess affirmed, tapping the side of her head.

"Good. It should already be set to our frequency. If there's any problems with it, give me a time-out sign and we'll regroup. Otherwise, all should be good to go."

"Sounds fine to me," Kess said.

"Ok. Through this door is your starting point." He motioned to a door in the wall just to the right of them. "It's a safe zone. You'll find an optical cable, goggles and lockpick on the table in there. Equip them and be prepared to use them when you go through the next door, which enters into the test area. I'll be over here – " He motioned to a door next to the one she was going to go though. "And watching. Don't be too rough with the boys, but don't go easy on them, either. Same goes for Sam. Even though he's got a thick skull, I don't want you to klonk him too firmly."

Kess grinned. "Not a problem."

"Off you go then," Lambert said, and exited through his door. Kess went through hers, and to the right of the door was a little table with the equipment Lambert had mentioned. She was in a small corridor with another door at the end. Kess slipped on the goggles, adjusting them till they were comfortable, and slipped the lockpick and cable into her pocket. She then quietly approached the door, which was hidden in shadows. She pulled the cable out of her pocket and slowly slipped it under the door, then kneeled down and peered through the end of it. Nothing but blackness. She examined the outside of it and located a small button labeled "Night". She pushed it, then looked back through the cable and was glad to see the features of a room lit up in a pale green glow. She angled the cable carefully back and forth. The room looked to be empty.

She retracted it and put it back in her pocket, then reached up and carefully tried the doorknob. Locked. She fished in her pocket again for the pick, found it, and gently inserted it into the keyhole, closing her eyes and concentrating on the feel of it as she manipulated it. _Bingo,_ she thought as she heard the click of the first pin release. She carefully popped three more pins and then the tension gave, and the pick turned easily in the lock. She pulled it out and slowly opened the now-unlocked door, slipping into the corridor.

It was nearly pitch black, save for a faint bit of light at the end. Kess lowered the goggles over her eyes and fumbled with the switch for a moment, finally finding the night vision. She turned it on and the area lit up. She began to creep slowly down the hall, rolling her steps from the heel of her foot to the ball, trying to be as silent as possible. As she got closer to the light, the goggles began to blind her, so she turned them off. She saw that the light was coming from around a corner. She put her back to the wall and slid along it to the end, then very carefully peeked around the corner.

There was a man seated in a small room there, his back to her, reading a magazine. There was a naked lightbulb suspended from the ceiling. Kess could tell from his blonde hair that it wasn't Sam, and she was a little relieved by this.

Kess was about to begin to approach him, but froze when she realized that because of the where the light was hanging, it would cast a shadow along the floor and alert him. _I'll have to ambush him. _She readied herself.

As he turned a page, Kess decided to make her move. She dashed up behind him. Before the man could fully turn his head around, Kess folded her hands together, then raised her arms and swiftly brought her fists down on the top of his head. He crumpled in the chair, and the magazine tumbled to the floor.

"Nice takedown," Lambert's voice said suddenly in her ear, startling her a little. "Sometimes ambush is the only option, but you have to be quick – which you were. Can you hear me all right?"

"Affirmative," Kess whispered.

"Excellent. Carry on."

Kess moved back to the shadows along the wall and padded softly forward. There was another hallway just ahead. As Kess neared it, another man suddenly strolled out. She froze, catching her breath. He continued to walk on oblivious, his back to her. Slowly Kess stepped out and crept after him. He moseyed on for a few moments, then stopped and yawned, stretching his arms out. Kess sprung up, slamming her elbow into the back of his neck. He toppled over like a bowling pin and lay still.

"Good, good," Lambert's voice said again. "One more man to go."

"I know," Kess whispered. _Sam._ Her shoulder was throbbing with pain now. _I need to get this over with and take care of my shoulder later._

She returned to the shadows and crept down the hall that the man had emerged from. There was another door at the end. She got down and slid the cable under the door, clicking on the night vision, and looking through it. In the scope's eye she could see a large room with a partition in the middle. One side was lit up, blinding her view, the other was dark. There was nothing in the dark corner. She flipped off the night vision, and with the loss of the blinding glow, she could see Sam seated in the corner, playing an electronic game. He seemed to be distracted, but Kess knew better. Some part of him was always on alert.

Kess retracted the cable. _How am I going to get in there? If I open the door, he'll see it or hear it. The light falls right onto it._ She frowned, then looked around. She examined the ceiling. _Damn, it's solid. If it were tiled, I could get up there._ Her eyes followed along the wall, and then she saw a large ventilation grate. _I think I could fit through that!…Providing I can get the cover off – silently. _She examined it; there were no screws. It seemed to just pull right out of the wall. She gently pried her fingers around the sides, then eased it out little by little, making barely a scraping sound. Once it was out, she gently set the cover down against the wall. She then hopped up, grabbing the free edge, and pulled herself into the narrow, dusty space, wriggling inside. She barely had elbow room, but inched along bit by bit on her belly. Finally she saw a square patch of light coming up, and she approached it silently, flipped off her goggles and peered down.

Through the open space she saw the top of Sam's head, and the game he was absorbed in. _Sudoku?_

"Shit, this one's tough," She heard Sam mutter to himself as he paused.

_I think he actually has got most of his attention on the game. I bet he's expecting me to make a lot of noise. Well, I'll show him I'm not as clumsy as he's thinking I'll be._

As slowly as possible, Kess curled herself around the opening, then carefully stuck her legs down.

Sam lifted his stylus again and touched a quadrant of the screen. "There we go, just 2 more numbers," he mumbled.

Kess slowly brought one leg back. She made a quick wish for luck, and then swung it forward and to the side sharply, kicking Sam square in the temple. With an outraged "Aaaaagh!" he fell to the floor, trying to stand back up once before slumping back down.

"Excellent work, Kestrel," Lambert's voice announced. "You've passed the course."

"Yessss!" Kess hissed to herself. She dropped down from the ceiling. Despite how Sam had acted towards her, her feeling of elation was quickly replaced by concern for him. He was lying facedown on the floor. She knelt over him and reached out, gently touching his cheek. "Sam?"

No response.

Panic began to rise in her. "Sam? Come on." She patted his cheek lightly.

"Uggggggggh," Groaned Sam, turning his head to the side. Kess closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

Sam blinked in confusion, then slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the side of his head.

Kess took his arm, looking at him with worry. "Sorry," She said softly.

"Don't be…ugh….you did what you were supposed to do." Sam growled. He gently prodded his temple with his fingertips for a moment, wincing at the pain, then looked up at Kess. "You got me a good one, little girl. You're tougher than I thought you were."

Kess wasn't one to gloat, but she couldn't hold back. "I told you so," she stated, then stood up, offering her hand to him for help.

"I'm fine," Sam groused, slowly pulling himself up to a standing position and brushing himself off.

The door to the room opened and Lambert entered. "You need to see the nurse, Fisher?"

Sam scowled at Lambert. "I'm alright. I'll just have a bruise and a headache. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to my place to take an aspirin and lie down."

"Fine with me," Lambert agreed. Still scowling, Sam moped past him and out of the room. When he was gone, Lambert grinned and shook his head. "His pride's a little hurt from being taken down by a woman half his size, but he'll get over it. You've had a long day, Kess, and I'm certain you're ready to go out in the field. You and Sam have tomorrow to prepare your loadouts and to review the maps of Viomax that Grim's managed to pull up, and then the next day we'll insert you, bright and early."

"I'll make sure I'm prepared," Kess assured him.

"Good stuff. Now, go get some rest!" Lambert exclaimed, patting her on the back.


	7. Chapter 7: Headgames

Kess had much less trouble getting out of bed the next morning, but her brain was still begging her for caffeine. After the usual routine of showering and dressing, she made a beeline for the cafeteria while thinking, _I might as well live **there**._

She decided her usual medium coffee wasn't going to cut it, and got herself a large with a good helping of cream and sugar. As she was standing in line to pay, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Sam standing very close, looking down at her, "Nice of you to get me a coffee. I see you remembered how I take it."

_Mr. Sunshine himself._ Kess snorted and turned away. "In your _dreams_, buddy. I missed my coffee yesterday and I'm just making up for it."

"Huh. And here I thought you felt bad for kicking a poor old man in the head."

Kess looked up at his face and couldn't help but notice that she really _had_ done a number on him. His left temple had a nasty purple bruise.

She instantly felt a pang of remorse. "Oooh, Sam…." She began, but her mind interrupted her. _He **volunteered**, remember? He's just trying to lay on a guilt trip._

"…coffee won't make a bruise go away," She finished, trying to sound uninterested. She turned back again.

"Buy me dinner?"

"Heh. No."

"At least kiss it better," he said in her ear.

"See 'In Your Dreams', Vol.2." she handed her money to the cashier, and went to sit down. Sam followed her and slid into the seat beside her.

"Don't flatter yourself, baby. _That_ suggestion was a joke."

"Even if it wasn't, you couldn't pay me enough to kiss you," she retaliated.

"You did yesterday," he reminded her.

"_You_ kissed _Me_. And it did nothing for me. In fact, I felt ill afterwards."

"Like I said, don't flatter yourself. I only did it to throw you off track."

"I know that. And it didn't work."

"Then I'll just have to come up with something that does."

_Ooo, that fucker. Well, I've been pretty polite so far. Maybe I can shock him with a little vulgarity._ "Eat me," Kess sneered. She took a long draw of her coffee

Sam leaned in close to her and purred, "Honey, I would love to eat you out…"

Kess choked on her coffee, spraying some onto the table and drawing stares from some of the other people in the cafeteria. She coughed, staring at Sam in shock. _He said that like Barry fucking White._

"…in **your** dreams." He finished condescendingly. He then stood up and went over to get his own coffee. Kess coughed some more until she managed to get the drops of coffee out of her lungs, glowering at Sam all the while. After he'd paid, he looked over at her and raised his cup to her, then turned away and walked out.

Kess gritted her teeth and wiped up the mess she'd made on the table with some napkins. _No matter what I do, he keeps trying to make a fool of me. He'd better leave this bullshit behind when we're on the mission. If he's a jerk to me in the field, I'll pull out. He can damn well do it by himself._ She sat there sullenly for a while, sipping her coffee. When she was finished, she decided to go to the workshop and make some final adjustments to the SC-20K to make sure the suppressor was a perfect fit.

A couple hours and some tweaking later, she was confident that it was ready to go. She grabbed the dust brush and began to sweep the scraps off the table. Her shoulder began to throb again. _I'd almost forgotten about that. I must have pulled it a good one._ She stopped and stretched it, rotating it around for a moment, but it did no good. She turned around let out a little shriek to find Sam standing right there.

"Hi," he said. He didn't have that expression that said he was looking for trouble, but Kess still warily kept her guard up. "Hi," she responded, once she'd caught her breath. She felt herself blush a little, feeling a bit embarrassed about their exchange earlier. She finished sweeping the scraps off the table, then put the tools she was using back in their box. She picked it up and reached up to shove the box back onto the high shelf it came from, and winced as a sharp pain arced through her shoulder.

"You alright?" Sam asked, actually sounding concerned.

"Yeah…I just wrenched my shoulder during training yesterday," Kess stated, rotating her arm. "It's nothing." She reached back up and pushed the box onto the shelf, this time ignoring the sharp pain in her shoulder.

Sam was silent for a moment, then said, "Can I help?"

"You can leave me alone," Kess muttered.

Sam laughed. _God, but he's infuriating! I'd like to slap him._ Kess thought, gritting her teeth. "Look," she said curtly, "It's just a sore shoulder. I'm perfectly capable of putting a box on a shelf, thank you."

Still grinning, Sam said, "What I meant was, can I have a look at your shoulder?"

Kess eyed him suspiciously.

Sam frowned at her. "I just want to feel the muscle and see if you might have torn a ligament. I've had enough injuries myself that I could probably tell if it's bad or not."

"Ohh, alright, fine." Kess groused. Her shoulder was actually quite painful, and although she just wanted Sam to go away, she was secretly hopeful that he might be able to help.

Sam came around behind her and laid his hands on her shoulder, gently pressing against the muscle with his fingertips. Kess was rather surprised that his hands were warm. _I figured they'd be cold and stony, like his personality, _she thought. Then she nearly went through the roof as Sam's fingers dug into one spot and she felt a sharp stab of pain jolt down her arm.

"Oww! What the hell are you doing?" She yelled at Sam.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Well, it just feels like a pulled muscle to me. I can feel a big knot in here where it's all cramped up."

"Good to know, thanks." Kess said, and pulled away from him.

"Don't you want me to see if I can work it out for you?" Sam asked.

"No, I'm fine." Kess said, and began to put some screws that were strewn across the table back in their box.

"Hey, I'm offering to help here, unless you want that cramp to keep you awake all night," Sam said gruffly.

Kess sighed. _I guess he IS trying to be nice, _she thought. "Okay, do what you want to do, then." She said, letting her voice soften.

Sam approached her again and once more laid his hands on her shoulder. He began to massage the muscle firmly but gently. Kess allowed herself to relax.

"Sm'good," Sam mumbled.

"What?" Kess asked.

"I said, 'you smell good.' Like…flowers or…something." Sam explained awkwardly.

"Uh…thanks," Kess said warily. _Huh?_

After working on her shoulder for a few more minutes in silence, Sam stepped back. "Try lifting your arm now," he suggested.

Kess repeated the movement she'd done with the box. "Hey, that _did_ help…" she admitted. "It's still a little sore, but not like it was…thanks." She said, giving him a genuine smile.

Sam didn't smile back, he just gave her a little nod and left without saying a word.

Kess stood there for a moment staring at the door, then shook her head and went back to work cleaning up the screws. _What is UP with him?_

_

* * *

_Chapter 8 coming soon!_  
_


	8. Chapter 8: Preparations

One light lunch later, Kess headed back to the workshop. As she turned the corner, she looked up to see Redding coming towards her from the other direction.

"Hi, Will! We meet again," Kess said pleasantly.

"Ha, I was just coming to see you. Lambert said you'd most likely be in here. I'm going to go over our arsenal with you so you can prepare your loadout to suit your needs. Sam's already set up. If you don't mind, I'll make a few suggestions on what would be best to take, but in the end it's your call."

"Sounds fine to me," Kess said.

""Ok then, I'll get you to follow me to the armory and we'll have a look-see."

"Lead the way," Kess told him, and he headed down the hall with Kess following beside him.

"So, has Sam been a little nicer to you?" Redding asked her as they walked.

Kess sighed. "Yes and no. He seems to have these mood swings. If it wasn't so obvious that he was a man, I'd suspect he was having his period."

Redding laughed. "That's typical Sam for you." They came upon a steel door with a card reader on the side. Redding slipped his ID card in, and a green light appeared on the reader. Redding pulled the handle and the door opened silently.

"By the way, you have clearance for the armory as well, if you didn't already know," Redding mentioned to her as he entered and flipped on the lights.

"I figured I did, but it's good to know. Thanks." Kess said appreciatively.

Redding smiled and motioned around the room. "Well, here we are. Feel free to browse."

Kess stepped through the door. The room wasn't incredibly large, but had a lot of weapons packed in there. A wide assortment was hanging up and lining the wall-to-wall shelves: knives and machetes, uzis, shotguns, revolvers, police-issue handguns, tasers, even trank guns. Kess was intrigued and closely examined the many weapons.

"Wow…is there anything you don't have here?" She asked incredulously, as she eyed a portable rocket launcher propped in one corner.

Redding smirked. "Not much. We even have a lot of…shall we say, less sophisticated weapons. You know, the kinds that aren't showy, but quite effective in certain situations." He lifted a blackjack in one hand and a pair of brass knuckles in the other as he said this.

Kess laughed. "I think I'll pass on those. I'll leave the gorilla jobs to Sam."

Redding grinned and put down the weapons. "That's the route I would take, too."

Kess looked around for a few more minutes and then said, "It looks like I have a lot of choices. Let's hear what you recommend first."

Redding rubbed his hands together. "Alright. Your advantage is that you're small and quick. You can fit into places that Sam can't, and do some things a bit faster than him. Because of this, I don't want to fit you with anything that's going to give you unnecessary bulk. Sam can sling around the SC-20K pretty well, but I think it would be a bit more cumbersome for you – correct me if I'm wrong."

"You're right," Kess agreed. "I can use it effectively, of course, but it is a rather large weapon for me."

"Ok then. In that case, I would suggest the SC pistol, 5.7 ammo – this is the same kind that Sam uses. Small, versatile – it has an optional laser sight as well as an OCP jammer – and quiet." He picked one up off the shelf and held it up to display the fitted suppressor.

"I'll take it," said Kess.

"Done," Redding comfirmed. He put the gun aside. "Now, in the event that you run out of ammo or the gun becomes jammed, you want to have a backup. See any knives you like?"

Kess looked over at the knives. "I've always had a soft spot for Ka-Bars. Especially ones with a partial serration."

"Good choice," Redding said, lifting a Ka-Bar in its sheath off the wall and setting it with the pistol. "Sam actually uses a Ka-Bar as well, but his blade choice is smooth. Well, that's really all I had in mind for you. Anything else you'd like?"

Kess scratched her chin for a moment, thinking. "I don't suppose…nah."

"What? Come on, don't be shy." Redding prompted her.

Kess looked a little embarrassed, but asked, "I've had a little Ninjitsu training in the past…I don't suppose you'd have any shruiken?"

"Do I!" Redding exclaimed with a grin. He grabbed a box off one shelf and opened it to display an assortment of throwing stars inside.

Kess laughed. "You really do have everything! Set me up."

"Can do," Redding assured her. He put the box aside, then looked at his watch. "Oh, Lambert also wanted me to tell you. There's another meeting-slash-briefing in about 10 minutes from now. We might as well head down there."

Kess nodded and stepped outside into the hall, waiting for Redding as he turned off the lights and made sure the door was locked. He then led the way to the meeting room.

When they arrived, Grim and Sam were already there. Sam was slouching in his seat, absentmindedly pulling at a loose thread on the neckline of his shirt. Grim was typing away at her laptop as usual. "Come and have a seat, guys," She said without looking up. "Lambert's just getting us some coffees. He'll be back in a minute."

Redding sat down beside Sam, and Kess chose to sit beside Grim. As she sat down, Sam briefly looked up from his thread at her. Kess gave him a little smile. Sam just stared at her for a moment, expressionless, and then went back to fiddling with his shirt.

_Interacting with him is a little like Russian Roulette,_ she thought with slight amusement. _You never know if you're gonna get an empty chamber or a bullet._

Presently Lambert entered, carrying a tray of coffees. He set it in the center of the round table and said, "I wasn't sure what everyone likes, so I just got them each with one cream and one sugar."

Everyone nodded their acceptance and reached out to grab a coffee. Kess wrapped her hands around the warm paper cup and commented, "Doesn't matter to me, as long as it's coffee."

"Now there's someone who's easy to please," Lambert said. "Ok then, now that we've all got our caffeine fix, let's get down to business. Will, did you get a chance to go over everything with Kess?"

"I did," Redding affirmed. "Her loadout will be ready to go in the morning."

"Excellent," Lambert said. "If you could, Grim, could you show us what the plan of action is?"

"Certainly," Grim said. She clicked her mouse a few times, then turned her laptop around so that everyone could see the screen, then shifted over so she could look around the side of the screen. On the display was a simple, gridlike drawing of a bulding. The main structure was green, but some areas were shown in other colours. Grim pointed to a series of red lines at the top of the structure. "Insertion will be on the roof. There's a door that leads to attic space up there, and then inside the building. It seems that the uppermost level is storage and very rarely accessed. There's a small pump house on the roof that should be suitable for Sam and Kess to sleep in. The pump house is almost never accessed unless something breaks. That possibility exists, so make sure you keep the door locked behind you when you're in there. Kess, you and Sam will both have PDA devices with you that you can access the building map with. We have a remote satellite link that will display your current location within the building as well."

Kess nodded.

Grim went on. "Kess, we've had a sneaking suit made to your measurements, as posted in your file. You'll have a pouch belt to carry rations and other necessities. The suit is water-resistant, so if you encounter any wet environments you should remain mostly dry. You'll find it in your room when you return. All equipment you need will be ready in the Osprey tomorrow. Please put your suit on first thing tomorrow."

Kess nodded again. Grim looked over to Sam. "Sam, is there anything you want to add?"

Sam shook his head.

"Well, then. Lambert?"

"Thanks, Grim. Okay, that's that, then. You're all dismissed for the day. I suggest you turn in early tonight, as you'll need to be up for 0400. You'll be on the Osprey by 0430 and ETA for insertion will be around 0500. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Very well. See you all tomorrow." He began to straighten up the pile of paper he'd brought with him as everyone stood up and started to leave, then he said, "Oh, Kess?"

Kess turned around and looked at him expectantly.

"I thought you'd like to know that we have a pool just beside the gym. I go for a swim sometimes to wind down – I don't know if you like to swim but I thought I'd mention it, in case you wanted to take a dip and relax before the mission."

"I would, actually. Thanks," Kess said. _I think I need to more kick some frustration out than relax. I'll probably sleep better afterwards._

She went back to her apartment and finished her coffee before digging her swimsuit out of her drawer. It was the style of suit that Olympic swimmers wear – Kess had preferred that style ever since a harrowing incident as a teenager, when she had dived into a busy public pool in a bikini and her top had come off.

She found a clean towel and headed for the gym area. A bit down the hall from the large double doors was another door marked "Pool", leaving little room for doubt. She pushed through it into a split corridor that signaled the men's changeroom to the left and the women's to the right. Kess went in the appropriate direction. The room was completely empty. There were lockers but she had no lock with her, and she wasn't too worried about her stuff since nobody was there, so she changed and put her things in an empty locker, and went into the pool area.

Kess stepped through the door into the pool room and looked around. The pool was fairly large and looked very clean. There was some Muzak playing softly over the speakers, but no one was around. _This is kinda nice,_ she thought. She walked around the edge of the pool to the deep end and dove in. She surfaced and did a butterfly stroke to the other end of the pool. When she reached it, she took a moment to catch her breath, then turned over and did the backstroke back to her starting point. She repeated this a few times, going as fast as she could. On about her fifth lap, as she was backstroking, she suddenly blundered into something. _What the…?_ She turned around to see Sam treading water behind her.

"Oh, it's you," She said, not bothering to hide the dismay in her voice at having her alone time interrupted by him. _Where'd he come from?_

"Glad to see you too," Sam remarked sarcastically, but with a grin.

Kess hadn't seen him bare-chested before and couldn't help but notice that he had a very nice build. His muscles were noticeable enough through his clothes, but now she could really see how solid his pecs and biceps were. He had broad shoulders and a well-defined sixpack as well. He had a bit of hair in the center of his chest, some of which was graying, and a darker trail of hair that began below his navel and disappeared under the waistband of his shorts. She realized she was staring at him and quickly looked away, frogswam over to the ladder and climbed out.

"Leaving already?" Sam asked.

"No. Just taking a rest." Kess said. She wasn't about to let Sam drive her away, and this was a good opportunity to catch her breath. She bent down to touch her toes to ease her thighs and calves, which were becoming a bit tight from the effort of kicking. She looked up momentarily, and to her horror saw that Sam was staring with fascination down the front of her suit.

Kess straightened up and shot a withering look at Sam. "Enjoying the view?" She asked condescendingly.

Sam was unfazed by her attempt to shame him. "Nice rack," he replied.

_Oh Jesus. I didn't realize it was possible to be repulsed and flattered at the same time. _Kess moved behind a bin of floats to obscure his view, and still standing, bent over backwards and placed her palms on the floor, making an arch shape with her body, and stayed like that for a moment to stretch her abs.

Sam paddled a little further down the pool so he could see her better. "Damn, you're flexible. Even I can't do that." He commented.

Kess straightened up and glared at him. "Did you come here to exercise, or pester me?" She demanded.

Sam said nothing, only grinned at her.

Kess rolled her eyes and did a few more stretches, completely ignoring Sam, before jumping back into the pool. When she resurfaced, Sam was right in front of her.

"Christ, Sam, will you leave me alone?" She asked in exasperation. She began to sidestroke to the other end. Sam followed along beside her. Kess swam as quickly as she could, but he was more muscular and faster, and had no trouble keeping up with her. She reached the other end and grabbed onto the edge for a moment to catch her breath. Sam glided up beside her and said, "You look good in that swimsuit."

Kess glanced at him suspiciously, waiting for the backhanded part of the compliment, but he had a sincere expression and didn't say anything else. She dropped her gaze to the water, blushing a little. "Thank you," She mumbled.

She heard Sam lift his arm out of the water and then looked back up at him in surprise as she suddenly felt his hand gently touch her cheek. "You're…" he began softly.

Kess blinked a few times, waiting for him to finish whatever he was saying, but he didn't.

Instead, Sam stared at her for a moment, then bent down until his lips were just brushing her neck. He slowly moved down, along her shoulder, then back up, not kissing, but his lips were always just barely brushing her skin. _What is he doing?_ Kess was bewildered, but was actually finding his actions very arousing. She could feel his warm exhalations of breath on her. Instinctively, she wanted to back away, but whatever it was he was doing felt so _nice._

Then, just like that, Sam turned away and began swimming laps. Kess stared after him, confused. He reached the opposite side, then turned around and came back. Before reaching the edge, he stopped and glared at her. "I need to do my laps now. Could you move to a different lane?"

_Aaaaaand there's Mr. Hyde,_ Kess thought indignantly. She glared back at him and decided she'd rather just leave. She swam over to the ladder and climbed out. Before she entered the changeroom, she looked back at him over her shoulder. He was continuing to swim with no notice of her.

* * *

Chapter 9 coming soon!  



	9. Chapter 9: Diving In

After a restful night's sleep, Kess awoke to her alarm feeling more energized than she thought she'd be. She picked up the neatly folded sneaking suit that had been left for her on her bed the day before and laid it out. It wasn't bulky, but was surprisingly heavy. It was some sort of smooth black fabric, with a look and feel between neoprene and spandex. It had textured rubber pads on the shins, knees, chest and abdomen and forearms. It had a zipper running down the front, from the neckline to the crotch, and the rubber padding on the front could be put over the zipper once it was done up and velcroed into place. Kess sat down on the bed and began to pull it on over her legs. It was a little awkward to get into, but after a few moments of grunting and tugging, she finally got it on and fastened up. As she picked up her hairbrush, she heard a knock at the front door. She sprinted over to the door and opened it. Sam was standing there, already dressed and set to go. He looked down at the brush Kess was still holding, then back up at her. "Were you planning to hit me with that?"

Kess laughed. "No." _Even though he probably deserves it._

"Good. Then I'll give you this." He handed her a foil-wrapped square packet. Kess took it. It felt quite warm. With curiosity she unwrapped it to reveal a fresh toasted western sandwich.

She smiled at Sam, feeling surprised and a little flattered. "Thank you. I wasn't sure if I'd have time to have something to eat this morning." She took a big bite.

"Well, I was up early so I thought I'd get you something while I was getting my breakfast. Does that fit you ok?" He nodded at her suit.

"Mmm-hmm," She mumbled as she swallowed her mouthful, glancing down at it. "It was a bit of a tight squeeze to get into, but it feels fine now that I have it on."

"You'll find a pair of gloves in one of the waist pockets. Make sure you have them on before insertion. Can't leave any fingerprints."

"No problem," Kess said. She patted her sides and located a small bulge on the right that she guessed were the gloves.

"You ready to go? If you are we could head up to the launchpad now. You can finish that sandwich on the way."

"Yeah, sure," Kess agreed. She decided her hair wasn't that important and tossed the brush onto an end table, then stepped out the door and followed Sam down the hall. She was walking slightly behind him and unconsciously raised her eyebrows as she noticed his backside. His suit was a very similar style to hers, also skin-tight, and his rear end was clearly defined. _Whoa, he's got a nice ass!_ Kess thought. She resisted a devilish urge to pinch it and instead focused on the remainder of her sandwich.

They came upon an elevator and Sam pressed the call button. After a few seconds, the door opened and they stepped in. Sam jabbed the button for the top floor and they waited as the elevator gently lurched and then began to rise.

Kess finished the last bite of her breakfast, balled the foil up and tossed it into a little metal waste receptacle that was on the wall. "That was good," she remarked.

Sam looked over at her, but didn't reply. He just stared at her for a few moments, looking her up and down like he was examining her.

"What?" Kess asked after a moment.

"You nervous?" He asked.

Kess was slightly bewildered. "About what?"

"The mission."

"Oh! No….I think I've psyched myself up for it pretty well." _Liar._ Truthfully, she was feeling a little anxious.

Sam continued to stare at her for a moment, then stated, "You're nervous."

Kess shook her head, avoiding his eyes. "Really, I'm not."

"You are," Sam reiterated. "You've got your fists all balled up and your arms are rigid. I've spent a lot of years reading people. You can't tell me you're not nervous."

Kess realized that her arms and hands _were_ tensed up and forced herself to relax them. She waited for Sam to begin teasing her about it, but instead he said, "Don't worry about it. If you weren't at least a little anxious, I'd be worried. People who have no fear are dangerous to work with. Once we get in there and get going, you'll lose the jitters."

"Thanks," Kess said appreciatively. _This is a nice side of him. I hope he starts acting this way more often._

There was a jolt as the elevator came to a stop, and then the doors slid open. Kess followed Sam out into a small alcove. When she looked around she saw that they were now on the roof, and the large launchpad was to the right, surrounded by a circle of lights so that they could see in the still-blackness of the early morning. The Osprey sat in the center of the pad, not yet running. As they approached it, Will stuck his head out of the doorway.

"Hi there! We're just about ready to go. Grim and Lambert are already on board. Hop in." He disappeared back into the aircraft.

Sam climbed through the hatch, followed by Kess. There was a narrow area they walked down which widened into a larger space. There was a benchlike surface lining each side of the plane, on which Grim and Lambert were seated. There were runner lights overhead and along the sides of the floor, lighting the interior with a sterile white glow.

"Good morning, you two," Lambert greeted them. "I see you're both ready to roll." Sam approached the left wall, where two compact, body-hugging knapsacks were hanging on hooks. He took one down, had a quick look inside, and tossed it over to Kess. The other one he put on.

"Everything you need is in your knapsack, Kess, don't lose it. There's both food and drink rations, a medical kit, a Swiss army knife, and other essentials." Lambert turned around and grabbed a pair of goggles and a balaclava that were in a little pile beside him. "Here you go. Put these on now." He handed them over to Kess. She noticed the balaclava didn't cover the face area, only from the hairline back and the neck as well. As she fitted them over her head, a mechanical growl sounded as Redding fired up the Osprey's engines. The _thumpa-thumpa-thumpa_ of the rotors turning began slowly and then increased in speed. Sam grabbed his own goggles and balaclava which were hanging beside where the backpacks had been, and pulled them on.

The Osprey suddenly floated upwards and Kess stumbled a bit, trying to keep her balance. It finally leveled out and she felt the forward momentum of the plane as they gained speed. Sam tapped her shoulder and she turned around, whereupon he handed her her pistol and Ka-Bar, both in holster and sheath, and already strapped to tough nylon leg holsters with clips on the ends. After a moment of comfusion from Kess as to how they attached, Sam silently pointed out the clips on the thighs of her uniforms. _That makes it easier,_ Kess thought as she clipped the knife to her right leg and the gun to her left. When she stood up, Sam was holding out the little case of shruiken. Kess took it and slid it into one of her side pockets. She then watched as Sam clipped his own knife and pistol onto his legs, and then lifted the SC-20K out of the large metal case on the floor that he had pulled the other weapons out of and slung it over his back. He then lifted out a belt fitted with a series of pouches and straps which held his various modules and LTL devices, and fastened it around his waist. Next he reached into one of the pockets on his side and drew out a little square bundle, nodding at Kess as he did so. Kess realized these were the gloves, and pulled her own out and put them on. They were a very thin but tough material similar to that of her suit, still allowing her some tactile sensation. There were rubberlike textured areas on the palms and fingers to also offer a good grip.

Lambert reached around to his other side and grabbed a couple small objects, handing one to Sam and one to Kess. "This is your PDA device that you'll find the building maps on. It's also linked to your OPSAT. You can upload data onto it via a small USB cable that's hidden inside a little compartment on the back of the device. Grim can also transmit files and other information to you remotely. You just wear it right on your wrist." Kess turned it over and saw the little elastic strap attached to it, and slid it over her hand.

Lambert added, "Your mission objectives will also be listed on your device. These objectives may change throughout the mission, but I'll inform you if they do, so don't worry about suddenly seeing something new on there."

Kess nodded and pressed the ON button. The little screen lit up with a pale green glow.

"How much do you trust me?" Sam suddenly asked her, while hoisting a parachute pack onto his back.

_Ha!_ Kess's brain shouted. "As my teammate, 100," Kess answered. "I have to." _Now THAT'S true. I really have no choice but to trust him, if I want to make it through this mission._

"That's fantastic," Sam replied, clipping the pack's support belt around his waist. "Then you won't mind being attached to me for a minute or so."

"I wha…?" Kess asked in confusion.

"Two parachutes would be more bulk to have to worry about," Lambert cut in. "You're light enough that Sam can strap you onto him, and he'll guide the chute on the way down."

"Come on," Sam said, motioning to her.

Kess knew better than to argue, especially since this arrangement was logical, so she walked over to Sam and stood in front of him, her back against his front. Sam's hands came around holding harness cords that were attached to the chute belt. He fastened one around her waist, then slung two more over each of her shoulders, which Kess helped to clip onto the waist strap. He dropped one more strap behind her, and Kess reached down and pulled it up between her legs, clipping it to the center harness. Sam adjusted the straps until she was snug against him, Then nodded to Lambert. Lambert nodded back and then lifted a small walkie-talkie to his mouth and said into it, "Redding, Sam and Kess are prepared. Where are we now?"

Redding's voice came back over the radio, full of static and crackles. "We're approaching New York right now. ETA 10 minutes."

Kess craned her head back. "I hope I'm not causing any discomfort…" she began.

"Psssht," Sam said. "Please. I've had weapons strapped to me that were heavier than you are."

Kess was about to say something sarcastic about exaggerating, but then she realized that he could very well be telling the truth, so she just offered a smile back up at him.

"You alright, Kess?" Lambert asked. Kess gave him a thumbs-up.

"Good. I want to wish you good luck on your first mission with us." Lambert reached over and offered his hand to her. Kess grinned and have it a hearty shake.

"No good luck for me?" Sam muttered.

"Sam, you don't _need_ luck. This is second nature to you." Lambert teasingly admonished.

Sam sighed. "Yeah," he replied wearily.

Grim glanced up from her laptop and grinned at him, then winked at Kess. Redding's voice came over a speaker on the ceiling of the plane. "Arriving in approximately two minutes."

Sam flipped his goggles down over his eyes and stepped forward awkwardly, prompting Kess to walk with him. He reached past her and gripped the handle of the large door on the side of the plane, sliding the heavy slab of metal open. There was a hiss as the airflow penetrated the opening, and then the wind rushed full in their faces. Kess looked out. Signs of daylight were just beginning to show, with the sky having turned from black to indigo blue. Below them the lights of the city glittered.

"Alright, Sam," Lambert called from behind them. Kess felt them suddenly tip forward and her heart gravitated towards her throat as they toppled out of the Osprey and into a freefall. Kess had skydived before, but never attached to anyone. It was a very strange feeling to have the pressure of the air rushing at her from the front, and Sam's 170 pound frame pressing onto her from the back. Sam yanked the ripcord on the chute, and there was a jolt as the chute bloomed out and caught the wind, slowing their fall. Sam grabbed the cords with his hands and steered them towards the top of one building that was larger than the others around it. Kess could barely make it out in the dim twilight, but Sam's night vision allowed him to see the roof's features clearly. As they neared it, Sam turned on his side so as to take any impact off of Kess. With a simultaneous "Oof" from both of them, they landed on the gravelly surface of the roof, the chute billowing down to rest overtop of them.

* * *

Chapter 10 Coming soon!  



	10. Chapter 10: Becoming Shadows

Kess unclipped herself from the harness, aided by Sam. When she was free of him she crawled out from under the chute and pulled it off of Sam.

"Thanks," he said, standing up and brushing himself off. "I hope the landing wasn't too rough on ya."

"I'm good," Kess said. She folded up the chute into a compact square bundle and handed it to Sam. He slipped it into his backpack, then surveyed their surroundings. Kess looked around as well. It was beginning to get a little lighter, but everything on the roof was still a mass of deep blue shapes. Kess remembered her goggles and flipped them down over her eyes, and with a click of the switch details jumped out with glowing greenish clarity. To the left of them was a small structure with a door, which was more than likely the pump house.

Sam approached the door and jiggled the knob – which was locked, of course. "Oh darn, I forgot my keys," he quipped. He reached into one of his side pockets and pulled out a lockpick, which he inserted into the keyhole and manipulated slowly, feeling for the pins. After a moment the lock clicked and Sam turned the knob, and the door creaked open. He stepped in and found the light switch, flipping it on. "Home sweet home," he said.

Kess entered behind him, looking around. It was a typical sort of pump house – there was some large cylindrical machinery that she had no idea what it did, with pipes leading to and from them. There were meters with lazily swaying needles stuck to various areas of the machines, and a panel with buttons on the wall. The place was dusty and smelled like oil and metal, and there was a constant hum as the machinery worked.

Sam closed and locked the door, then touched a spot behind his ear which activated the speaker in his OPSAT. "Lambert? We're in."

"Good," Lambert's voice said in both Sam and Kess's ears. "First thing I need you two to do is get inside and find a computer, preferably one in an office, so you can be as secluded as possible. Hack into the company's email server and do a search to see if you can find anything on the dead employee. Last name Howard, first name Gavin. Employee ID number, 3966. Grim is sending further details to your OPSATS now."

Kess lifted her wrist and looked at her PDA, and sure enough, in a moment some words appeared on the screen: _1 New Message: Howard Info._ She pulled the stylus out of its receptacle on the device and selected the message. The name and number that Lambert had stated appeared on the screen, along with a small picture of a smiling young man that looked like it had been scanned from an ID card. _Man, he was probably only a couple years younger than me….poor guy, _Kess thought.

"How rough am I allowed to be?" Sam asked.

"Don't kill anyone. Not yet," Lambert answered. "Same goes for you too, Kestrel. If it turns out they really are clean and we have fatalities on our hands, that will look very bad."

"Alright," Sam said, with a hint of reluctance in his voice.

"That being said, I realize you may have to resort to bopping a few heads. But don't do that unless absolutely necessary. And Kess, leave that job as exclusively to Sam as you can. I know you are capable of putting a man out of order, but I need you to focus on the more technical aspects of this mission. Try not to use force unless Sam needs help."

"Understood," Kess acknowledged.

"Good. Report back to me once you've located a terminal," Lambert said.

Sam checked his info on his OPSAT and then looked up at Kess. "Well, if you need to take a piss or have a drink, now's the time to do it."

"I should be fine for awhile," Kess assured him.

"Hope so." Sam said. "I saw a vent grating while we were out there – we can use that as our ticket in. How quiet are you?"

"I managed to sneak up on you, didn't I?" Kess reminded him.

Sam smirked. "Hmmm. Yeah. Alright then, let's go…follow my lead." He opened the door and exited the pump house, with Kess following. Sam walked over to a large grate on the ground, from which a cool air was blowing. There was about a 3 foot drop down into a metal hollow, which had an opening in one wall that the air was coming from. He examined it – there was a large screw in two of the corners holding it in its bracket, and it was hinged on the other side. Sam drew his Swiss Army knife out of his backpack and used the screwdriver on the screws, then slowly lifted the grate back. The rusty hinge groaned a little. He climbed in and then motioned to Kess. She hopped into his arms and he set her down. He pulled the grate shut and then crouched, beckoning for Kess to come closer. She squatted beside him.

"We'll have to keep our voices down while in the ducts," he whispered. "The metal resonates and we don't want anyone hearing us talking in there. Now, select "Map" from the menu on your OPSAT, and when that comes up, select "Guide." There's a GPS built in there that'll follow our position as we go along, so we'll have an idea of where's a good place to exit."

Kess nodded and did as he said. The little map that Grim had showed them yesterday popped up on her screen. There were two blinking dots in one area, one red and one blue.

"Red is me, blue is you," Sam stated before she could ask. He then turned to face the dark opening that led into the duct and got down on his belly, crawling forward into it on his elbows. Kess took his posture and followed him into the darkness.

* * *

Chapter 11 coming soon! 


End file.
